Three independent Egyptian newspapers ran white boxes on Thursday in
the space where their editorials are usually found in protest at what
they say is a bid by the Muslim Brotherhood to control the media.

"The space is white to protest against attempts by the Brotherhood to
impose its control over the press and media belonging to the Egyptian
people," wrote Al-Watan which, along with Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-
Tahrir, did not publish editorials.

The protest came after the Brotherhood-dominated upper house of
parliament named new directors and editors-in-chief for state-owned
newspapers, many of them nominees close to the Islamists.

This follows the practice under the regime of ousted president Hosni
Mubarak, assuring that his now-defunct National Democratic Party
would keep a firm grip on who ran the state-owned press.

The journalists´ union has protested against that practice and also
against a recent act by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsud, a
member of the Brotherhood´s Freedom and Justice Party.